Our position is 17:54.354N 62:51.466W
We left Statia in good order on Thursday as planned and set sail to
clear the end of the oil pipeline dock. The wind had stayed in the East, but was
quite changeable along the side of the island and we didn’t want to give away
anything to leeward. This resulted in having to navigate through all the waiting
tankers, which we were hoping were still anchored, and doing a quick 360 degree
turn to avoid obstructing a tug towing an oil barge. The strategy paid off and once we
cleared the oil traffic we had a fast and boisterous close fetch under double
reefed main and small jib to St Barts.
We had hoped that perhaps we might be able to tie up in the harbour
at Gustavia but St Barts is where everyone who is anyone goes for Christmas and
New Year. The contrast between this island and any of the others we had been to
was apparent from quite a long way out. Mega motor yachts were scattered far and
wide across the outer anchorages. When we got closer we could see that the
harbour was also crammed to bursting with what were, to all intents and
purposes, small ships interspersed occasionally with a super yacht, looking
rather dwarfed. We headed back into the outer anchorage, where closer into the
shore there were more boats of our kind
St Barts is a small, French island, and until the end of 2011 was a
member of the EU. However this did not entitle them to European money as they
are too rich! From 1 January 2012 they have managed to achieve something David
Cameron would probably give his eye teeth for - they are leaving the EU but retaining
those bits and benefits they choose to, which surprisingly also includes the
Euro as their currency. Also, unlike the other islands, the population is
predominately white as there was no slavery here because there were no big sugar
plantations. They now concentrate on top end tourism. I tried to persuade Ted to
buy me a Gucci bag from the shop on the front but he was having none of it, and
I had no better luck next door at Cartiers. Back at the boat our peaceful
sundowners were disturbed by the sound of helicopters landing on anchored
boats
It was a very long, rather damp, dinghy ride into the harbour every
time we wanted to go ashore so we spent Friday reading the tourist information
we had picked up when we checked
in, planning the next stages of the cruise, e-mailing, and fixing the macerator
pump (Ted). However that was the
last day we had an internet connection (it appeared to have been switched off
for the holiday) so it was just as well we grabbed the opportunity. The tourist
information claimed there was a big yacht race round the island on New Year’s
Eve so we went ashore early hoping to get some sight of it from a vantage point.
In the event there seemed to be only a few entries, although they were
impressive enough in terms of size (unsurprisingly), so not much to see. We had
a look round the immediate area of the town and climbed to Fort Karl (for a
period of time the island was Swedish as the French swopped it for Gothenburg
and the Swedes built 3 forts to protect themselves from the marauding British!)
in order to see the racing yachts going past, then it was back to town to catch
the chandler before they closed for the afternoon. We were able to take
advantage of a price reduction on some oldish charts of the Bahamas, but having
used all our cash, and being saddled with them to carry around, meant we
postponed our planned food shopping trip – something we were going to regret
later. When we made it back in for the shopping a lot of stuff, including bread,
had sold out. However we were able to stock up on cheese and wine.
We had thought to eat ashore and then stay on for the live music on
the dock and the fireworks, which were being let off from Fort Oscar. However we
had not made any attempt to identify a suitable restaurant and when we got
ashore the choice seemed to be either 200 euro menus or beef burgers. Guess
which one we opted for! Back on the dock we listened to the music (the live band
was resting, their sets only seemed to last about half an hour and then a 2 and
a half hour rest!) and wandered up and down wondering if we could join any of
the parties on the mega boats. We chatted to a couple who were part of the crew
of one boat. (There wasn’t a party on their boat but they were expected to
provide brunch between 3 and 6 the next morning) They told us that their boat
had been chartered by an indulgent Brazilian couple and their current guests
were 12 spoiled teenagers. The couple owned their own ship and had also
chartered a second boat, presumably for overspill guests. I couldn’t help
wondering how they made their money if they could afford to squander it in that
way.
At midnight all the boats sounded their hooters, which was quite
impressive. The fireworks were spectacular – but what would you expect and when
they were over we headed back to our little boat. Just after arriving back we
had an indication that perhaps 2012 is going to be particularly lucky for us, as
the heavens opened and there was the mother and father of a rain storm. It must
have put a terrible damper on the celebrations on the dock and the bouncers
guarding the motor cruisers gang planks.
And so to 2012 - we would like to wish all our readers all the best
for the New Year
Approaching the oil pipeline
dock
The tug and barge that caused us difficulty
Fortunately this one was
anchored
Yet another change of courtesy
flag
Approaching St Barts
No room in the harbour for
us In
the anchorage some of our neighbours were a lot bigger than
us
and the helicopter isn't a toy even if it looks like
one!
Shell Beach anchorage round the corner from
Gustavia
View of the harbour from Fort Karl
Fort Oscar is used by the gendarmerie and
there is no public
access
Red roofs add an interesting spalash of colour
Not even room for a little
one This
is believed to have been left by an American warship leaving
suddenly
in 1828, to escape attack
Anything to escape the 200
euro menu!
This guy was a right little raver - always dancing - but his wife was having
none of it
How the other half celebrate. The underwater
lights did create a lovely effect
